Desdemona Despair

Blogging the End of the World™

Nile Delta agriculture falls prey to climate change

By Staff WritersRosetta, Egypt (AFP) Jan 28, 2010 The Nile Delta, Egypt’s bread basket since antiquity, is being turned into a salty wasteland by rising seawaters, forcing some farmers off their lands and others to import sand in a desperate bid to turn back the tide. Experts warn that global warming will have a major […]

China's Cabinet says pollution situation still serious

By Ben Blanchard, BEIJINGWed Jan 27, 2010 9:39am EST BEIJING (Reuters) – China still faces a serious threat from pollution despite recent government efforts to clean up, the Cabinet said on Wednesday, adding the country would step up investment in environmentally friendly industries. While noting some progress at closing outdated factories, cleaning up dirty rivers […]

Patagonia mountains rise as glaciers retreat ‘faster now than they have ever retreated formerly’

Rise tied to warming and receding glaciers By Larry O’Hanlonupdated 12:49 p.m. PT, Wed., Jan. 27, 2010 Mountains along the southernmost swath of South America are growing taller at a record rate, say researchers, who attribute the growth to the accelerating loss of glaciers there. The new GPS-based measurements from Patagonia’s southern ice field show […]

With climate change, birds are taking off for migration sooner, but not reaching destinations earlier

  Migrating birds can and do keep their travel dates flexible, a new study published online on January 28th in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, reveals. But in the case of pied flycatchers, at least, an earlier takeoff hasn’t necessarily translated into an earlier arrival at their destination. It appears the problem is travel […]

Graph of the Day: Streamflow at Major Australia Reservoir Sites by Decade, 1920s – 2000s

A review of the amount of water flowing into Melbourne’s dams shows 2000-2009 was the worst on record for Melbourne’s major reservoirs. It was significantly down on the previous low set during the 1980s. Decade in dam levels Technorati Tags: drought,freshwater depletion,Australia,global warming,climate change,agriculture

Stray polar bear shot and killed in Iceland

After initially losing sight of the polar bear spotted near Thistilfjördur fjord in east Iceland in the early afternoon yesterday, police and three hunters tracked it down by the abandoned farm Ósland around 4 pm and killed it. Ósland is only a few kilometers east of the farm Saverland where the polar bear was first […]

Sydney desalination plant online

January 28, 2010 (AAP) – Sydney’s controversial desalination plant has been switched on and is pumping purified sea water into the city’s drinking supply. NSW Premier Kristina Keneally pushed the button on the $1.9 billion plant, at Kurnell in Sydney’s south, this morning. At capacity, the plant will generate 250 million litres of water a […]

Fewer honey bee colonies and beekeepers throughout Europe

ScienceDaily (Jan. 28, 2010) — The number of bee colonies in Central Europe has decreased over recent decades. In fact, the number of beekeepers has been declining in the whole of Europe since 1985. This is the result of a study that has now been published by the International Bee Research Association, which for the […]

French fishermen fear end of sushi bonanza

By Michel RoseSETE, FranceThu Jan 28, 2010 6:49am EST SETE, France (Reuters) – As the clock on Sete’s city tower strikes 5 p.m., the clear blue sky of this Mediterranean seaport suddenly fills with seagulls, awaiting the return of fishing boats from their regulated time at sea. SETE, France (Reuters) – As the clock on […]

Ozone killing trees in experimental forest

Greenhouse Gases via Wit’s End Technorati Tags: pollution,carbon dioxide,deforestation,global warming,climate change

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